Repeating mechanism for check-controlled apparatus.



F.- G. KAINER. REPEATING MECHANISM FOR. CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1909.

1,036,258, Patented Aug.20,1912.

' 4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

P. o. KAINER. REPEATING MECHANISM FOR CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1909.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET z.

2 ,4. L .bma I! V F. G. KAINER.

REPEATING MECHANISM FOR CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1909.

1,036,258. V Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

4 SHEETS-$113131 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAI'H m. WASHINGTON. u. c.

F. C. KAINER. REPEATING MECHANISM FOR CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1909. 4 I 1,03 ,25 Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

4 BHEETS-8HEBT 4.

FREDERICK C. KAINER,

OF SOUTH HAVEN, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB TO POPE AUTOMATIC MERCHANDISINGCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REPEATING MECHANISM FOR CHECK-CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

Application filed July 14, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK C. KAINER, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of South Haven, county of Van Buren, State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RepeatingMechanism for Check-Controlled Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

The main objects of this invention are to provide improved mechanism forcausing a check controlled machine to repeat a certain operation andadapted to automatically stop the machine after it has performed apredetermined number-of said operations; to provide a mechanism of thisclass which may be readily altered so as to cause the machine toautomatically stop after any desired predetermined number of repeatedoperations and to provide certain improvements in vending machines ofthe type shown in my copending applications, Serial No. 483,901, datedMarch 17, 1909, and Serial No. 483,900, dated March 17, 1909.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the check controlledapparatus and motor of a cigar vending machine, the section being takenon the line A-A of Fig. a, and the parts being shown in their initialposition as when the motor is stopped. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectiontaken on the line BB of Fig. f, some of the parts of the supportingframe of the motor being partly broken away and the parts being shown inone of the positions which they occupy during the delivery of a cigar.Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 and showing a diflerent position ofthe parts. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan showing the repeatingmechanism and a portion of the delivery mechanism, some of the parts ofthe coin chute being in section on the line C-G of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is adetail of a repeating wheel designed to cause the machine to deliver twocigars for each coin which operates it. Fig. 6 is a similar wheelmodified so as to cause the machine to deliver six cigars for each coin.Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation viewed from the rear of Fig. 1.Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail, in perspective, of the controllingelement, the catch which holds it in operating position and the partwhich Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

Serial No. 507,537.

releases the catch to stop the machine. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail ofthe repeating mechanism, the parts being shown in their initialposition, as when the machine is stopped. Fig. 10 is a view of the sameparts showing their relation while the vending machine is in the act ofdelivering a cigar and when the repeating mechanism is in position forcausing the machine to continue to run after the delivery of a cigarfrom the machine. Fig. 11 is a view corresponding to Figs. 9 and 10 butshowing the relation of the parts when the notched wheel is in posi tionto allow the machine to be stopped after delivering a cigar.

The device shown in the drawings in-.

cludes a machine for vending cigars, a mo tor for operating saidmachine, check controlled mechanism comprising a controlling elementnormally urged into position for stopping the motor and adapted throughthe presence of a coin or check in a certain position to start themotor, means actuated by a cigar during its delivery from the machine tocause the motor to stop, and repeating mechanism adapted to operate soas to count the number of cigars delivered for each coin and preventstopping of the machine until a predetermined number of cigars have beendelivered. In the drawings the vending machine is represented by thefragmentary portions thereof which appear in the various views, the part1 shown in Figs. 3 and 5 being a drum which delivers cigars singly andin succession from the magazine which is not shown. The cigars are fedfrom the magazine by feeding mechanism (not shown) actuated by thethreaded shaft 2 of Fig. 7.

The motor comprises a spring 3 and a suitable train of gears indicatedin some of the views but omitted from Fig. i for the sake of clearnessof the illustration.

One of the shafts a of the motor has mounted upon it a fan 5 whichthrough its friction with the air oifers sufficient resistance to governthe speed of the motor. The

stopping and starting of the motor is controlled by means of acontroller element in the form of a lever 6, pivotally mounted at 7 inthe supporting frame and provided with a pin or shoulder 8 which ismovable into and out of the path of the fan 5 through the movement ofthe lever 6 on its pivot. The lever 6 is counterweighted so that itnormally swings to position for stopping the motor. The lever 6 has anarm 9 which is bent at right angles near its end as illustrated in Fig.4 and which carries at its end a horizontally disposed plate or pin 10which extends into position for receiving a coin from the coin chute 11.

Although the casing of the machine is not shown in the drawing it willbe understood that the upper end 12 of the coin chute is adjacent and inline with a slot in the casing so that coins inserted into the slot willbe conducted along the chute. Coins or checks which are of suitable formand material to pass the coin-detecting device will be delivered to thepan 10 and supported on edge upon said pan by the adjacent side walls ofthe coin chute. The counterpoise of the controlling element 6 is suchthat the weight of a coin or check causes the pan 10 to descend, liftingthe detent 8 from engagement with the fan 5 and causing the starting ofthe motor.

In order to permit the coin to be discharged from the pan 10 and beforced into a display rack 13 where it can be seen by an attendantduring the operation of the machine, there is provided a catch 14 whichengages the arm 9 and retains it in its clepressed position. This catch14 is best seen in Fig. 6 and the manner in which it engages the arm 9will be understood from Figs. 10 and 11. The catch 14 is carried by ahorizontal pivot 15, and is so disposed that it falls by gravity to thelimit of its movement to the left of Figs. 9, 10 and 11 when it is notin engagement with the arm 9. The mechanism for shifting the catch 14into and out of engagement with the arm 9 comprises a slotted arm*16pivotally mounted ona stud 17 on a lever 18 which in turn is pivotallymounted at 19 on the supporting frame. The lever 18 has a forked armwhich engages an eccentric 20 on one ef the shafts of the motor so thatthe lever is caused to oscillate while the motor is in operation. Thecatch 14 has an upwardly extending arm 21 which extends through the slotin the arm 16 and is bent at right angles at its upper end to prevent itfrom accidentally slipping out of the slot.

The mechanism which causes the discharge of a check or coin from the pan10 comprises a link or slide 22 which is pivotally connected at one endto the upper end of the lever 18 and has at its other end a transverselyextending shoulder 23 (Fig. 4) which extends into a horizontal slot 24in one side of the coin chute 11. As the pivot 25 is fart-her from thepivot 19 than is the pivot 17, the travel of the shoulder 23 isconsiderably greater than that of the arm 16, and during eachoscillation of the lever 18 i the shoulder 23 sweeps across the pan 10so as to push off any coin which may be resting thereon. A coin is shownat 26 in Fig. 4 in position on the pan. In order to keep the pan 10 inits depressed position until the catch 14 has engaged the arm 9, thereis a dog 27 on the link 22 which prevents the lifting of the panuntilthe lever 18 has returned to the opposite limit of its movement.During the travel of the coin ejecting link 22 toward the right of Fig.4 the shoulder 27 at one end of the slot in the arm 16 engages the arm21 of the catch 14 and pushes said catch into engagement with the arm 9of the controlling element.

The cigar delivering mechanism is represented in the drawing by thepocketed drum 1, indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. An arm 28, rigid on a shaft29, extends into engagement with the arm 16 and controls the elevationof said arm 16. This arm 28 is counterweighted so that it normally holdsthe arm 16 in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 9. When in thisposition the arm 16 may push the catch 14 into engagement with the arm 9but it cannot release said catch as the slot in the arm 16 is of suchlength as to allow the arm 16 to travel back without releasing thecatch.

The shaft 29 carries a pair of fingers 30 which extend into the path ofcigars carried in the pockets of the delivery drum 1. When these fingers30 are engaged by a cigar 31 or other article which is being deliveredby the machine as represented in Fig. 2 they are swung to one side so asto depress the arm 28 and allow the arm 16 to fall to a suitableposition for engaging the shoulder 32 on the arm 21 of the catch 14, asillustrated in Fig. 11. When arm 16 is in this position it trips thecatch and causes the instant stopping of the machine, since it releasesthe controlling element and allows the pin 8 to block the rotation ofthe fan 5.

In order to cause the machine to deliver a plurality of cigars for eachsuitable coin or check, there is provided a movable controlling memberpreferably in the form of a wheel 33, which is so located as to engage ashoulder 34 on the arm 16 and which is so shaped as to determine whetheror not the arm 16 shall engage the shoulder 32 and trip the catch 14. Inthe form shown the wheel 33 is a ratchet wheel having shallow and deepnotches arranged in a predeter mined order on its periphery. The shallownotches are of such depth that they support the arm 16 above the levelof the shoulder 32 while the deep notches are of suflicient depth toallow the arm 16 to engage said shoulder '32. When the arm 28 is in itsinitial or normal position it supports the arm 16 clear of the wheel 33so that the reciprocating movement of the arm 16 has no effect upon thewheel. Whenever a cigar is being delivered the contact of the cigar withthe fingers 30 will depress the arm 28, and allow the shoulder 34 toengage the wheel 33. When in such position, each oscillation of thelever 18 causes the wheel 33 to be rotated through an angular intervalcorresponding to one tooth space of the wheel 33, there being a pawl 35,Fig. 1, which prevents reverse rotation of the wheel 33. The gearing ofthe motor should be such that the wheel 33 will be advanced through onesuch angular interval during the delivery of each cigar. If the wheel 33is of the form shown in Fig. 5, that is with alternately shallow anddeep notches, then the machine will deliver two cigars for each coindelivered to the pan 10. If the wheel is of the form shown in Fig. 6there will be siX cigars delivered for each proper coin. Bychanging thearrangement of shallow and deep notches in the periphery of the wheel 33any number of repetitions of the operation of the machine may be had.

The operation of the device shown is as follows: The normal or initialposition of all of the parts is shown in Fig. 1. When a coin is insertedinto the coin chute 11 if it passes the coin detecting devices it willrest upon the pan 10 as indicated at 26 in Fig. 4 and through its weightwill lift the detent 8 clear of the fan 5 and start the motor. The motorcauses rotation of the delivery drum 1 and operates the other feedingmechanism to cause cigars to be discharged one at a time as indicated inFig. 3. The rotation of the motor also causes the lever 18 to oscillate,causing shoulder 23 on the link 22 to travel back and forth above thepan 10. During its movement to the right of the 4: the lug 23 dischargesthe coin 26 and pushes it into the display rack where it may be seen byan attendant. During the same movement of the lug 23 the arm 16, throughits engagement of the arm 21 of the catch 14, pushes said catch intoengagement with the arm 9 of the controlling element 6 and prevents saidelement from returning to its normal position after the discharge of thecoin. If no cigar is in position to be delivered the motor will continueto run, causing the drum 1 to rotate and causing the link 22 and the arm16 to travel back and forth in the manner described. During thisoperation the arm 28 supports the arm 16 in such position that it cannotrelease the catch 14:. As soon as a cigar, through contact with thefingers 30, withdraws the arm 28 from engagement with the arm 16, saidarm-16 falls until its shoulder 3a engages the wheel 33. As theoscillation of the lever 18 is timed so as to make one complete forwardand backward movement during the interval of time normally required todeliver one cigar, the wheel 33 will be rotated one tooth space for eachcigar delivered. As the first cigar is delivered while the shoulder 34is in engagement with a shallow notch in the wheel 33,

the wheel will prevent the arm 16 from tripping the catch. This movementwill advance the wheel so that during the delivery of the next cigar theshoulder 34 will engage a deep notch in the wheel 33'and the arm 16 willaccordingly be allowed to engage the shoulder 32 on the arm 21 and willtherefore release the catch 14, causing the machine to come to a stop assoon as the link 22 has moved far enough to the left of Fig. 10 to drawthe dog 27 clear of the plate 10. It will thus be seen that the machinealways stops with the mechanism in the normal ini tial positionindicated in Figs. 1 and 9.

The copending applications hereinbefore referred to, describe and claimthe features of the check controlled mechanism and feeding mechanismwhich are indicated in the drawings, but not described in detail norclaimed in this application.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described it will be understood that numerous details of theconstruction shown may be altered or omitted, within the scope of thefollowing claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a check controlled apparatus, the combination of a machine, amotor for operating said machine, a controlling element normally urgedinto position for stopping said motor, a coin chute, a part extendinginto the path of a coin delivered by said chute and adapted when engagedby such coin to shift said controlling element into position forpermitting the operation of said motor, means operated by said motor fordischarging a coin from engagement with said part, a catch movablethrough the op eration of said coin discharging means into position forholding said element in its operating position, an arm movably mountedon said coin discharging means and movable therewith adjacent to saidcatch, said arm being normally urged into position for releasing saidcatch, and means adapted to engage said arm and prevent it fromreleasing said catch.

2. In a check controlled apparatus, the combination of a machine, amotor for operating said machine, a controlling element normally urgedinto position for stopping said motor, a coin chute, a part extendinginto the path of a coin delivered by said chute and adapted when engagedby such coin to shift said controlling element into posit-ion forpermitting the operation of said motor, a catch movable through theoperation of said motor into position for holding said element in itsoperating position, mechanism actuated by said motor for releasing saidcatch, and means adapted to prevent said mechanism from releasing saidcatch during the operation of said motor.

3. In a check controlled apparatus, the combination of a machine, amotor for operating said machine, a pivot-ed controlling elementnormally urged into position for stopping said motor, a coin chute, apart of said controlling element extending into the path of a coindelivered by said chute and adapted when engaged by such coin to shiftsaid controlling element into position for permitting the operation ofsaid motor, means operated by said motor for discharging a coin fromengagement with said part, a catch movable through the operation of saidcoin discharging means into position for holding said element in itsoperating position, an arm pivotally mounted on said coin dischargingmeans and movable therewith adjacent to said catch, said arm beingnormally urged into position for releasing said catch and means adaptedto engage said arm and prevent it from releasing said catch.

4. In a check controlled apparatus, the combination of a machine, amotor for operating said machine, a pivoted controlling element normallyurged into position for stopping said motor, a coin chute, a part ofsaid controlling element extending into the path of a coin delivered bysaid chute and adapted when engaged by such coin to shift saidcontrolling element into position for permitting the operation of saidmotor,

means operated by said motor for dischargv lug a coin from engagementwith said part, a catch movable through the operation of said coindischarging means into position for holding said element in itsoperating position, an arm pivotally mounted on said coin dischargingmeans and movable therewith adjacent to said catch, said arm beingnormally urged into position for releasing said catch, means adapted toengage said arm and prevent it from releasing said catch, a ratchetwheel located in position to be engaged by said arm when said arm isreleased by said preventing means, a shoulder on said arm adapted toengage said ratchet wheel and advance it, said ratchet wheel beingadapted to prevent said arm from releasing said catch when said ratchetwheel is in a certain angular position and to permit such release whensaid ratchet wheel is in another certain angular position.

5. In a check controlled apparatus, the combination of a machine, amotor for operating said machine, a pivoted controlling element normallyurged into position for stopping said motor, a coin chute, a part ofsaid controlling element extending into the path of a coin delivered bysaid chute and adapted when engaged by such coin to shift saidcontrolling element into position for permit ting the operation of saidmotor, means operated by said motor for discharging a coin fromengagement with said part, a catch movable through the operation of saidcoin discharging means into position for holding said element in itsoperating position, an arm pivotally mounted on said coin dischargingmeans and movable therewith adjacent to said catch, said arm beingnormally urged into position for releasing said catch, means adapted toengage said arm and pre vent it from releasing said catch, a ratchetwheel adjacent to said arm, a shoulder on said arm adapted to rest onthe periphery of said wheel to support said arm, said wheel havingnotches of different depths in its periphery, there being shallownotches adapted when engaged by said shoulder to cause said wheel toturn while preventing said arm from releasing said catch, and therebeing deep notches adapted when engaged by said arm to cause said wheelto turn while permitting said arm to release said catch.

Signed at Chicago this 2nd day of July 1909.

FREDERICK C. KAINER.

lVitnesses EUGENE A. RUMMLER, MARY M. DILLMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

